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The Sheriff of Nottingham is Robin Hood’s main nemesis throughout the novel, and he is emblematic to Robin of what is wrong with authority figures and the legal system in general. Though the Sheriff represents the law, he is not a fair arbiter of justice, making Robin Hood feel he must take matters of justice into his own hands. The Sheriff is not motivated by doing what is right but rather by his personal feelings, ego, and desire for power and wealth. He is determined to catch Robin Hood in part because the victim, the forester, was the Sheriff’s relative. This motive shows how he is unable to leave his own agenda out of his execution of the law. As the Sheriff becomes increasingly frustrated by Robin Hood’s antics, he seems to seek Robin not out of a desire to prevent crime, but because he is humiliated by his failure to capture Robin. Similarly, the Sheriff uses his position to amass wealth, as shown in his plan to take advantage of the new butcher, who turns out to be Robin Hood.

Despite the Sheriff’s position of power and his hatred of Robin Hood, he is afraid of the famous outlaw. Even when the Sheriff is brought to Robin’s encampment in Sherwood Forest, he is too fearful of being robbed to do anything when directly presented with his nemesis. Robin Hood seems aware of this because he taunts the Sheriff both from afar and up close. In the end, Robin outranks the Sheriff as an earl, and the Sheriff dies at Robin Hood’s hand, proving his weakness as both a character and a villain.

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